Afraid of the Uncommon
by erajaviera
Summary: She wore the green and silver with pride although everybody thought she didn't fit in the House of Snakes. Amalia Ferri was a Slytherin, but not your typical Slytherin; she didn't have any connections with the Dark Lord and she didn't want to see muggle-born buried ten feet under the ground. She was ambitious, and cunning, and was willing to use any means to achieve her ends.


Callisto Ferri stared at his family in silence.

He watched as his eldest child admired his new broomstick; he watched as his only daughter prepared her things to leave for the first time; he watched as his youngest child looked around trying not to look sad by the fact that both of his siblings were leaving him, and finally he looked at his wife who was making sure everything was in order. He grinned and stared at his perfect family.

Alessandro Ferri wore the Slytherin colors with pride just as his father had once. He had been scared when he heard the Sorting Hat saying he was going to be a part of the House of Snakes, but it didn't take him long to realize he was wrong for letting people's comments get to his head; now, after four years he couldn't imagine himself wearing other colors than the green and silver.

He watched his sister getting ready for her first year, he knew she was nervous, but he teases her anyway; he tells her that with her character she will most likely end up in Hufflepuff, although he knows she has the qualities to join him and deep in his heart, he hopes for it to happen.

Amalia Ferri stared at her big brother in awe. Every time he left to Hogwarts she would sneak into his room and stare at the cream colored walls with green and silver decorations. She loved hearing him talk when he went home for Christmas and Easter, she loved hearing him talk about something he did on a Quidditch match... She felt proud of something she wasn't a part of.

Amalia was staring at herself, trying to do something new with her long, straight, light brown hair, but she knew it was going to end up looking the same. She could feel her parents' eyes over her as well as her brothers'. She knew her mother was hoping that her only daughter would follow her steps and be sorted in Ravenclaw, and she also knew both her dad and older brother were hoping for her to be sorted in Slytherin. She was very perceptive for an eleven year old, she never had a hard time guessing what people were feeling or thinking, and now she was nervous enough to let her family's thoughts get into her, so she went to her little brother, Diego, who was two years younger than her and wasn't very aware of the world surrounding him.

Diego Ferri knew this was going to be the last time he saw his brother and sister in a long time. He had a hard time not having his big brother when he first left to Hogwarts and now he had to get used to not having his sister by his side when he needed her. He tried to act like nothing was wrong and pretending he has glad they were leaving.

"It's time. Alessandro, Amalia, are you sure you have everything?" Eveline Ferri said putting on a coat.

"Yes, mother. Can we please get going? I have to find someone before we get on the train" Alessandro said trying not to look very worried.

"Before you get on the train? Are you seeing a girl from Gryffindor or what?" Their father joked, earning a groan from the eldest of the siblings.

"Can we just hurry? Maybe Amalia has some time to make friends before getting to Hogwarts."

"Don't turn this on me. I'll do just fine on my own, thank you." She answered him as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't start, you two." Eveline said taking Diego's hand. "Alessandro, look after your sister, we're behind you"

Alessandro pretended he didn't hear his mother's voice and did the usual. He barely could contain the excitement that going back to Hogwarts caused him. Memories of his beloved school passed through his mind and he didn't even notice when they were in front of the Hogwarts Express. He made sure his sister was beside his parents before getting lost in the crowd looking for familiar faces.

Amalia watched everyone around her and tried to guess who was going through the same she was at the moment. She watched as his dad began a conversation with a ginger she had never seen in her life, she guessed it was someone from the ministry since he worked there. Her mother began doing the same and she soon found herself lost in a room full of people. After a few minutes her parents returned their attention to her but it didn't last long since a family of three interrupted them.

"What a surprise finding you here, Callisto." A blond man said shaking hands with Amalia's father.

"I've been doing this for the last four years. It's more of a surprise finding you here, Lucius." The Italian man said with a smile on his face.

"Oh, yes. It's Draco's first time to Hogwarts. I guess it's your daughter's first time, too." Lucius said dedicating something that could be interpreted as a smile to Amalia.

"Yes, she's my daughter Amalia." She smiled when she heard her name. "My eldest son disappeared as soon as we arrived, and my youngest is with his mother getting used to the idea of not seeing his siblings."

"I'm sure you won't notice when your three children are gone" Lucius said almost laughing. "The Board will be reuniting on my house tomorrow, but I suppose you already knew that"

"Yes, I did. I'm going to be there and we'll finally have the chance to... discuss things." Callisto said narrowing his eyes subtly.

"Make sure you bring Eveline with you. Have a good ride, young girl." Lucius said looking at Amalia before shaking hands with her father for the last time.

Amalia had seen the man before as well as his family. He and her dad were part of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. She had learned that Lucius and her father had been classmates, they had been close at the time but they chose different paths. It didn't take a genius to know Callisto wasn't very fond of Lucius and vice versa. Mentally, Amalia said to herself she was going to find out the reason why they didn't like each other.

Everything happened quickly. Amalia saw her mother wiping her eyes after hugging her and wishing her the best of luck before her father did the same and caressed her hair before gently pushing her towards the entrance. She didn't look back.

She walked through the compartments until she found one where a girl who seemed her age was seated, Amalia asked her if she could seat there to which the girl stared at her and muttered a quiet yes.

"My name is Amalia Ferri and this is my first year. What's your name?" She said enthusiastically.

"Hermione Granger. It's my first year, too" She said looking more confident of herself.

"Cool! I thought I wasn't going to meet anyone from my year!"

"I thought the same" Hermione gave her a warm smile. "Your name is kind of uncommon, are you from here?"

"My father's family is Italian, but they moved here ages ago. My brothers and I are the second generation attending Hogwarts." Amalia said with pride on her voice.

"That's awesome, do you visit Italy often?"

"Sometimes, all of my father's siblings went back to Italy after finishing school so we usually go there for Christmas" Amalia finished her story and Hermione smiled at her before starting a new topic.

"Did you hear Harry Potter is coming to Hogwarts?" Hermione said with excitement on her voice.

"Harry Potter? Yes, I heard something. Why?" Amalia said and Hermione seemed surprised by her answer, since those weren't the words

"Why? Don't you know what he did?!"

"Yes, but it's not like the Dark Lord is alive anymore. I bet he doesn't want people to recognize him from that on his first day." Amalia answered with a subtle shrug of her shoulders. Hermione seemed to be thinking of an answer but someone interrupted them.

"Hi, I'm Neville" He stuttered. "Can I sit here?" Amalia looked at Hermione since she had arrived there first.

"Of course, Neville."

"Looks like we have a long ride ahead." Amalia said smiling at the window when she felt the train moving.

This was just the beginning.


End file.
